News analysis

Israel and Iran

For such a time as this

BINYAMIN NETANYAHU'S comparison of the threat of a nuclear Iran to the Nazi Holocaust makes some Israelis cringe. "The year was 1944," the Israeli prime minister told thousands of American-Jewish activists at the annual policy conference of AIPAC, the pro-Israeli lobby, in Washington on March 5th. In 1944, American Jews implored the Roosevelt administration to bomb Auschwitz. "Such an operation would be of such doubtful efficacy," said Mr Netanyahu quoting the American state department's response; "such an effort might provoke even more vindictive action by the Germans."

Just hours earlier, as everyone in the hall knew, Mr Netanyahu had been urging Barack Obama to bomb Iran's nuclear plants, or at least support Israel's bombing them, before they manage to produce a weapon. If Tel Aviv were hit in response by Iran and Hezbollah's (conventional) missiles and Israeli civilians were killed and injured as a result, so be it. The nuclear threat was infinitely more dangerous.

"A new low in cynicism or hysteria," wrote Ofer Shelach, an Israeli military commentator, in Maariv, an Israeli newspaper, the next day. "Jews were being shipped to their deaths every day in their tens of thousands. The only way to act was to bomb the death camps, no matter how many died in the bombing. This is the analogy invoked by the man who commands… one of the most costly and powerful military machines in the world, paid for by our taxes, equipped by the U.S.…."

For Mr Netanyahu, of course, that is precisely the point. "2012 is not 1944," he proclaimed to his cheering audience. "The American government today is different… The Jewish people are also different. Today we have a state of our own." Beyond the controversial Hitler-Ahmadinejad analogy, Mr Netanyahu was walking a delicate line in Democratic Washington in his implied criticism of Franklin Roosevelt's failure to respond to the Jewish imprecations of the second world war.

Beyond that, too, there was a subtext even more pointed and poignant that has been largely missed in Israel. It will not, however, have been missed by many in that Washington Jewish audience and by Jews across America. The timidity of the American Jewry during the Holocaust was, and still is, the subject of bitter dispute between Mr Netanyahu's political mother-movement, the Revisionist Zionists, and the Jewish/Zionist mainstream in America and in then-Palestine, now Israel. In the mid-20th century, American Jews were at their demographic apogee, numbering some 3.65% of the overall population. They were concentrated heavily in the electorally critical states of the North-East. They almost all voted Democrat. But from the autumn of 1942, when word of the "Final Solution" first reached them, they had held back and hesitated, loth to wield their considerable political power publicly in support of rescue schemes in occupied Europe. Not until 1944 did the American Jewish leadership at last summon the courage to ask Roosevelt to bomb Auschwitz.

The tiny Revisionist movement in America at that time—whose chief activists were Palestinian Jewish fighters sent over before the war to raise funds for the anti-British Irgun—accused the mainstream of pusillanimity, of failing to wield Jewish political clout to press the Roosevelt administration to save Jews. Copious scholarly literature now exists on the subject, much of it sympathetic to the Revisionist standpoint.

This dispute over what America's Jews could have done to save other Jews—Bibi's father, Professor Benzion Netanyahu, was one of its protagonists during the war years—left a profound mark on the Revisionist movement, which later morphed into Israel's Likud Party, led first by Menachem Begin and now by Mr Netanyahu. It was not only Roosevelt who failed the Jews, the Israeli prime minister was, in effect, saying in his speech. It was the American Jewish leadership of that time. Then, as now, the counter-argument was that to shout and pressure too forcefully would be to court the accusation that the Jews were pushing Roosevelt to conduct a "Jewish war". It would provoke domestic American anti-Semitism.

Mr Netanyahu's position now, like that of his political (and biological) forbears, is that mortal danger trumps domestic political dangers. To him, the present fear is not only or mainly that Iran would nuke Tel Aviv but that its vaunted ability to do so would lead to a brain- and talent-drain from the Jewish state, undermining its viability in the long term. Hence a key line in his speech: "As prime minister of Israel, I will never let my people live in the shadow (italics added) of annihilation."

Unfortunately for Likud and AIPAC, the generation of American Jews who felt guilty about staying here in safety while Israel was genuinely at risk are dying off. Their heirs will not accept direction in silence, but will argue about Israeli policy just as fervently as Israelis do. No more knee-jerk support for Right-wing Zionism.

The OECD is a meaningless club. China, the 2nd largest economy in the world is not a member. Likewise, India, the largest democracy in the world is not a member. Brazil (whose economy is larger than the UK) is not a member. Greece is a failed economy with a junk bond credit rating is a member. Enter the real world, where a mere .25% decline in China's GNP growth rate, causes the $ and Wall Street to fall!!! People and nations that do not study history are destined to repeat it. And pride comes before a fall. The Jews were evicted from most European countries (Spain, Germany, etc.) - the reason may lie in the non-acceptance of other cultures by the Jews themselves. With attitudes like yours, Israel will be a small blip in history. I am sure that there are liberal Jews - they must speak now to ensure Israel's long-term survival!!!

I support Jews who support giving back Palestinian land and dignity. If the Palestinians continue to be humiliated and surrounded with growing Israeli settlements, we will never have peace in the region. // Jean Clelland-Morin

Straight face - yes!!! Naive, clueless, an Arab apologist - certainly not!!! Let us get get these petty issues out of the way - since you like to be very abusive to people who disagree with you.

Now on the issue of the Muslim and Christian population of Palestine prior to the arrival of the Zionists. Very detailed records on this issue are available from a variety of sources - e.g., Turkish, British, American, UN, and several recognised academics. It is clear that communities who lived in Palestine have been evicted by a very theocratic state. By using violence, majority communities have been reduced to helpless minorities by the Jewish people. The methods used are somewhat similar to Nazi Germany. Israel and Iran are both theocratic states - both need to transform themselves into modern democratic and secular states. The only difference between Iran and Israel is clear and stark. Iran is a historical entity dating back hundreds of centuries. Israel is a transplanted man-made state which was born out of European guilt for centuries of Jewish ethnic cleansing. I am surprised that the Jews blame the Germans - the Romans and the Spanish were equally repressive of the Jews. Therefore, till Israel agrees to the right of return, the Jewish state will face hostility and opposition. Not only from all the countries in the Middle East, but from liberal intellectuals all over the world. From New York to Beijing!!! This hostility will not be resolved by denying nuclear weapons to Iran. India, Pakistan China and Russia (in Asia) all have the bomb - soon Turkey, and possibly, Egypt will want to go nuclear. The problem of modern technology is that it spreads. That is why a nuclear-free world is the only way civilisation will progress. Likewise, global bodies like the UN will need to be strengthened. The current method of "occupy and deny" is very silly - specially come from people who pretend to be educated and enlightened!!!

Read history - all the British and American archives were released several years ago. All the documents have been read by by scholars all over the world. It was a tri-lateral co-ordinated attack by the Britain, France and Israel. The problem is Israel does not release any documents - everything is kept secret to hide the truth. A liberal democracy??? What a joke.

Disgusting comments from the leader of Israel!He is ready to accept large Israeli casualties by attacking Iran.This warmonger is worst than Hitler.Netanyahu does not care about human lives be Iranians or Israeli.

One reading Netanyahu's words will think that Iran is not the country with the largest Jewish community in the middle-east outside of Israel itself. Okay for some facts to counterract the AIPAC-Likud party war propaganda---
Jews are protected by the Iranian constitution and are entitled to one MP in the Iranian Parliament. The former Jewish MP in the Iranian Parliament Maurice Motammed has on several occassions publicly challenged the views of Ahmadinejad on the Holocaust and nobody harrassed him. The current Jewish MP in Iran parliament is Dr. Ciamak Moresadegh. Jews are even entitled to brew and consume alcohol in a theocratic nation where it is officially banned. Contrary to western media propaganda, Jews in Iran feel comfortable there and those who left Iran mostly immigrated to USA for economic reasons. A couple of years ago, Israeli media was awash with stories of Iranian Jews who left their new homes in Israel and went to Turkey to renew their Iranian passports which had expired after several years of not being used. Many of these Jews were candid that they had been living in what Iranian government calles the "Zionist Entity" for many years. The Iranian embassy officials in Turkey often listened, took their applications and then gave them new passports. Many of those Iranian Jews relocated to Iran have remained in touch with family and friends in Israel and have reported no harassments whatsoever.

Why is the "right of return" (of people who had homes and lands located within Israel) a non-starter?? Very few people (including myself) can understand this. I would imagine that such a right would be very logical and would end one of the main reasons for this perpetual conflict!!!

Went to the British Library to check this point. For the 1956 attack on Egypt, the full archives of America (including General Eisenhower's records) and Britain are available. My French research associate has sent me the French records. Israel's records do not exist. Based on the America, British and French records it was a fully planned invasion by the three countries. Incidentally, the whole conspiracy is fully disclosed in the writings of Sir Anthony Nutting (the British Minister of State in 1956) plus the detailed records relating to the subsequent resignation of Anthony Eden (the British Prime Minister). The secret agreement between Israel, France and Britain was made in Sevres (in France) on October 22-24, 1956 - three days of meetings and discussions - followed by a formal signed document!!! The complete details of the "Protocol of Sevres" are available. It is a signed document - David Ben-Gurion signed on behalf of Israel. There are 3 copies of this document - Israel's copy is available in the Ben-Gurion Archives.

It is sad that you conceal the truth merely to make a point. It is also very offensive that you constantly write "Arab/Muslims" without thinking - there are 1.8 billion Muslims - the Arabs are a minority. Clearly you are bigoted - and certainly you are a racist!!!

Israel is and will always be a paranoid state because let's face it, it was built on the ruins on other people's country, on the misery of others...its sick that not only Jews but most of the west think that it was OK for "Jewish terrorist groups" who are basically immigrants from Europe to drive out residents of historical Palestine and commit massacres in 1948 to justify their existence...

The decision of the Jewish diaspora communities to keep - for millennia - separate identities from the rest of these particular societies made them often appear as an 'alien element' within the midst of others. It is this element of 'Jewishness' which created tensions . . . also throughout history.

If this "otherness" is maintained in a "low profile" manner, it will be accepted nowadays; if the disparity is exercised in a power-seeking way, it will quickly be perceived as "fifth-column activities". (*)

(*) Read for more explanation what I mean with that, "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy", by John Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and Stephen Walt, Professor of International Relations at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, published in late August 2007. BTW, the book was a New York Times Best Seller of 2007.

The Jews of Israel use the Holocaust as blackmail, to be allowed free hunting of defenceless Muslims in the Gaza and Palestine. The Europeans and Americans seem to fall for it. After all it was one of their lot that was responsible for that act. Perhaps they should drop in on Afghanistan and see if their paranoia affords them a shield of invulnerability.

Iran will never use nukes against Israel. A look at the map of the region will tell you that any nuclear attack on Israel will definitely harm all the neigboring countries. Iran needs and depends on their proxy's, Hezbollah (southern Lebanon), Hamas (Gaza Strip), and Syria. They cannot afford to lose any of these rare allies at the moment and I feel like a nuclear attack on your allies would effectively end that relationship, something Iran literally cannot afford right now.

This analysis that Iran is so unstable as to not care about the nuclear response on their own nation, so long as Israel is destroyed is flawed in many ways.

1. The Iranian Regime has never said they will wipe Israel off the map. It has repeatedly said it wishes to remove the Zionist Regime that occupies Jeruselem. A regime change is something that Israel is threatening Iran with, therefore cannot complain about Iran threatening to do the same.

2. Iran has many conventional weapons and has probably, by now, supplied its proxy's with them. A day of non-stop launching of these weapons would do just as much damage, without harming their allies. Therefore, the claim that Iran will stop at nothing to wipe Israel off the map really has no basis.

3. Iran is not irrational. An irrational regime could not have survived this long going up against the world's greatest and only super power. They have played their cards right for over 30 years and continue to do so. They are not the crazed "towel heads" that everyone accuses them to be.

Israel, you can pursue your foreign policy any which way you want. Just don't look to big brother US to come to your rescue if things go badly.

How about trying for peace for a change? Netanyahu and his Likud party have set back the peace process decades due to their inflexible attitudes and by enlarging settlements in occupied lands despite US objections. In essence, Israel does not want US opinions about suing for peace but wants US bombs and manpower to wage its wars. Thus, as a US taxpayer, I have to pay for Israel’s stupidity. Get real.

I guess you have quite a few problems with the English language.........Basic facts are either ignored or not understood by you. Your government does not release any records about 1956 and/or other sensitive subjects like the ethnic cleansing of the original inhabitants of Palestine. The "Protocol of Sevres" was signed by 3 countries. I have seen Britain's copy. Your country's copy is available in the Ben Gurion archives.....However, I am given to understand that access to this document is denied. A few academics and jounalists claim to have seen it there. As for 1956 war, it ready does not matter what the Zionist army did or did not do. Why were they there in the first place!!! Egypt was fully within their rights to nationalise an asset, just like any country. The age of gunboat diplomacy is over. It seems that you are cocky about your army. Here again you might be out of date. Given the way your foreign policy is heading, you might have to face the Turkish military at some stage. The best policy for Israel would be to recognise that it is located in the Middle East. Consequently, it is clear that Israel's long term future will be bleak if it continues to treat all its neighbours will such rabid hostility and racially-motivated disdain. Constantly appealing to the US for help and support is a very short sighted policy for several reasons. US public opinion is getting fed up of overseas military interventions, particularly after the ill-fated wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Furthermore, Asian super powers like China, Russia and India will assert their naval presence in the Middle East. The world is fast changing from a unipolar structure into a multi-polar structure.

Why wouldn't all non Europeans under British rule not have supported Hitler? In India we supported, morally at least, the Japanese and the Germans. Anyone who would kick British butt was a friend. America was happy enough with Britain's Empire, so the JEws should stop whining and nit picking. You wanna count how many non whites the British killed? Wanna?